The United States isn't the same place for Terry Olson as it was three years ago, before the Iraq War.

Olson, 39, has been a member of the Greater Lansing Network Against War and Injustice, or GLNAWI, for less than a year, but has been opposed to the war since its inception in March 2003.

"The war in Iraq is the worst policy that I've ever seen our country undertake," he said. "It's become clearer that the rationale for this war were lies."

The East Lansing resident is a part-time attorney in the Lansing area and served in the military from 1985 to 1988 before attending MSU. He obtained a psychology degree and then a law degree from Cooley Law School.

Olson said his military background affects his perception of the war.

"I've gone through a great transformation," he said. "I was completely patriotic — I'm still patriotic. But I was the red-blooded American boy trained to fight communists. I very much believed in my mission."

Now, Olson said when he watches television each night, he sees the names of killed soldiers and checks for the names of friends and comrades.

"I'm looking for old names and faces of people that might be dying over there — good, young men who have probably put in 20 years and should be retiring and spending time with their families," he said. "We need to bring them home."

Before joining GLNAWI, Olson wrote an anti-war novel, "Direct Actions," which was published in September 2005. That month Olson traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in a rally with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier in Iraq who has been an outspoken opponent against the war.

"I was very enthused by her story and wanted to go," he said. "It was just wonderful to be with people who recognized what was going on."

Olson said out of the crowd of 150,000 protesters, he found himself within 25 feet of Sheehan.

"I never felt as touched or as moved in this issue than when I looked into her eyes," he said. "She lost a son and you can see it in her eyes — it was a very powerful moment for me."

Through GLNAWI, Olson found other members of the community who shared his thoughts on the Iraq War.

"There are 25 to 50 people who are constantly active from all walks of life, from all levels of education," he said. "It's a great cross section of our community."

Olson said the group wants troops pulled out of Iraq as soon as possible.

"We've made this mistake in the past in terms of Vietnam and tens of thousands died," he said. "It was a horrible chapter in American history. If we don't do anything, that's going to happen in Iraq."

The violent situation in Iraq is a mess whether U.S. soldiers leave now or 10 years from now, Olson said.

"The fact that our troops are there is strongly encouraging more violence, not less," he said.

Olson said ending war in Iraq is GLNAWI's primary focus, but events haven't been attracting attendees like they first did.

"We're struggling to get maybe hundreds today and here we are, three years later," he said. "Where are we as a society? Why aren't we waking up and taking to the streets and voicing about what is clearly a failed policy?"

As of Tuesday, there have been 2,308 U.S. casualties in the Iraq war, according to an Associated Press count.

Olson said the war in Iraq is similar to the Vietnam War, in which 58,193 Americans died, and it's up to the American people to protest.

"We can wake up faster this time," he said. "I don't think we have to go through a decade of struggle to realize that this was a mistake."